As the exploration of creating a heritage conservation area in Queen’s Park moves into the home stretch, tensions are mounting in the historic neighbourhood.
Residents who support and oppose the proposal filled council chambers on April 10. Some urged council to approve a conservation area, some appealed to council to abandon the plan and others suggested the city needs to hit the pause button and make sure the conservation area is done right.
“We are quite far along on the timeline, but not totally at the end,” said Britney Quail, the city’s heritage planning analyst. “So far in this exploration for conservation in the Queen’s Park neighbourhood there have been eight open houses, five surveys, 19 reports to council and 26 open working group meetings. It has been quite the process.”
After hearing from more than 20 residents at its last meeting, council said they wanted to digest the information rather than provide staff with direction on next steps. Council will be considering the next steps toward establishing a heritage conservation area (HCA) in the Queen’s Park neighbourhood on Monday.
Opponents of the conservation area have cited concerns about a variety of issues including decreased property values, costs associated with making changes to homes in a conservation area, property rights and lack of incentives for homeowners in a conservation area.
“I don’t think we should allow the wishes of some preservationists to overrule our individual rights and forcibly turn our homes into public monuments,” said Joanne Matson. “Any Queen’s Park resident who wishes to legally protect their home is absolutely free to do so, and I would definitely support them doing so. Our neighbourhood is not a museum. It’s a place for us to raise our families, and that should remain its primary purpose.”
A staff report states a heritage conservation area is a tool that can be used to protect existing buildings and provide design control for new construction, with the goal of ensuring change in the area is respectful of the existing heritage character.
Supporters, however, said the Queen’s Park working group has spent three years considering all aspects of a conservation area, meeting with B.C. Assessment and considering issues such as property values, property rights, design guidelines. They noted there are more than 60 conservation areas in B.C. and hundreds across Canada.
“I am not saying change should never happen or it’s never desirable, but, to my understanding, a heritage conservation area is the best tool we have for managing change, especially in these times of ever-increasing housing pressures,” said Jill Davy. “I am not saying a policy that no house should come down ever; I am saying, let’s have an explicit policy that assigns a level of protection to homes of heritage value, let’s have a policy that requires a review of those heritage values before issuing a green light for a demolition permit and let’s have some rules, not just guidelines in place, about what kind of a new house goes up. I believe that enacting a heritage conservation area is a progressive move and it’s the right move for our city. ”
A staff report states there was 76 per cent support for the creation of a conservation area after the first round of consultation, but that fell to 58 per cent after the second round of consultation. The report states residents support protection of older homes (pre-1900 to 1929).
While supporters say there is a “silent majority” in the neighbourhood who support the conservation area, as shown by more than 300 ‘We support heritage conservation signs’ adorning local lawns, opponents suggest many of those who support the concept don’t thoroughly understand the implications of the policy.
Mark Fox, who has lived in Queen’s Park for more than 30 years, has concerns that “HCA Flight 2017” is taxiing toward the runway and council needs to address the “warning lights” before taking off to ensure all passengers are comfortable.
“I am supportive of the heritage conservation process – we need it. But please press pause on this,” he said. “None of us wants to be on a flight where the warning lights have been discounted. Deal with the warning lights. Taxi back to the gate. Take some time – let’s get this right so that all of us ... have a safe and enjoyable flight.”
What people are saying:
“The status quo doesn’t make sense. We believe the heritage community’s proposals do not support a plan to engage young, ethnically diverse buyers. … We believe the heritage committee is a loud, minority group in Queen’s Park who is largely a group of heritage landowners that would do anything to protect their interests.”
– Claire Zanatta
“It is a misnomer to say the HCA will prevent all demolitions from occurring. That is not the case. What will happen is it will give our elected officials the ability to say no to a demolition, whereas now, under the status quo, you don’t have that power.”
– David Brett
“Canada is an evolving society with unique, multiple interpretations of history. We must deal with the change. We don’t want to live in a stagnant, but vibrant community.”
– Rav Johal
“I care about my wallet just as much as anybody else, but bulldozing a solid, period-valuable home that has stood for 60, 70 or 100 years or more leaves more than just a hole in the ground. It severs a link between the physical past and the yet-unrealized future. I think this city deserves a bigger vision than that.”
– Jill Davy
“My question is why are HCAs good enough for other heritage neighborhoods around the world but not here in Queen’s Park, where we have the largest inventory of heritage homes in Western Canada?”
– Mary-Lou Nidle
